Diesel Monte's 2001 Skoda Fabia "Project vRSDI"

[DieselMonte]

Took the time to finish the passengers seat today. Definately not a hard job to do but very very tedious. I ended up using zip ties instead of the hogrings but the zip ties I used were crap and would snap as soon as I tried to tighten them. The seats are dirty and dusty because I was working on the cardboard and moving the seats about trying to get the seat cover to go on properly. I know now how to do it right so the drivers seat should come out a bit better. If I can get a good seat cleaner I can have these seats looking perfect in no time.

The foam underneath is in great shape on the passat seats too, much better than the worn, mould ridden , foam of the fabia seats.

Last pic is of the Briskoda sticker I stuck on the back ages ago. I think it looks nice but my camera seems to disagree.

[DieselMonte]

Took the passenger seat back out to give it a good clean. I was going to leave the plastic trim off but I think I can make them look good enough to use.

[DieselMonte]

Both seats finished and drying a bit before I put them in. I have the Plastics to clean up still, not sure whether or not I'll keep the underseat storage for the Monte Carlo or put it back in this. Drivers seat took a third of the time to do and came out much better than the passengers if i'm honest. If anyone is reading this to see how its done I can only advise to get a good set of pliers that can reach in and snip the hogrings off, then just use good quality zipties in their place. This way its a much easier job. Excited to see how they look in the car when they're in properly.

[VanhireBoys]

Great work there lad .. Fare play to you ! Seats are really nice ... Are you considering the NCT ? 

 

Just a watch out on the oil pressure sender - I thought I would be smart and got a 2 post M10x1 VDO copy sender. The gauge works perfect but the warning light needs a normally open contact - The sender I got is normally closed, so the switch is closed with no oil pressure and opens once the engine is running - opposite to how the original sensor works.

 

The light in the dash cluster was flashing and beeping like the blazes when connected to the oil sender so I just ran a ground wire to the plug. Now if you don't start the car within 10 seconds she alarms......! 

 

I got an LED from Demon Tweeks which I have put in above the hazard light switch. 12v side to the ignition the ground side to the sensor - It works well ! 

 

If your sensor is gauge only you will need a t-piece so you can fit the original switch and avoid all the fun that I had 

 

 

[DieselMonte]

Thanks for the advice on the gauges. I only ever had them on the old dash, never got to installing them then. NCT is still a ways off, but not as far off as it once was.  I dont have an airbag module for the airbags so I cant fool it using resistors because it isnt there. I dont know if I could pass NCT with no power steering even though it doesnt bother me, airbag lights obviously a fail too. Apparently you can pass the NCT with no rear seats provided the seatbelt hardware is out too,it just gives an advisory for rear seats being missing. I know I need front springs, a cv joint, and some tyres to atleast have a fighting chance of passing but again thats a far way off.

[DieselMonte]

Good progress today. Seats are done and back in the car. Drivers seat looks great, passengers side is just ok. In anycase they are much nicer than the worn out standard seats. My camera is very unforgiving with those interior pics, but I still think they look good in there.

On another note I got the drivers foglight working, the crimp connectors I used were ****e so I scavenged some wiring from an old gate sensor and used that wiring to extend the wires. Passengers foglight wont sit in its connector right so thats a job to figure out another day.

[DieselMonte]

Before I put the seats in I decided to give the plastic trim a clean to see if I could use them. To my surprise, they cleaned up very well. Some soapy water and a scrub brush took the dirt off of the panels easily. You can see in the previous post how nice the panels look. Might put some dressing on them next day to see if I can get them looking even better.

[VanhireBoys]

Them seats look really smart ! That wee car is deffo on the way back ! Compared to what she was like you have done great work ! 

 

With her being 20 years old I wonder would she qualify for a limited use policy ? If you are over 25 it's no bother ! Campions in Roscommon are really nice ! If you even get your owl fella to insure it and have her open driven any one of your family could use her ! Worth checking it out ! As she nears completion it would be good to be able to test run her !

[DieselMonte]

37 minutes ago, VanhireBoys said:

Them seats look really smart ! That wee car is deffo on the way back ! Compared to what she was like you have done great work ! 

 

With her being 20 years old I wonder would she qualify for a limited use policy ? If you are over 25 it's no bother ! Campions in Roscommon are really nice ! If you even get your owl fella to insure it and have her open driven any one of your family could use her ! Worth checking it out ! As she nears completion it would be good to be able to test run her !

Classic insurance is what I was banking on getting. Insurance for my monte carlo is up soon so I need to get it sorted first before I can think about getting this insured. The way things are, the Nox alone for a mk1 vrs would be atleast 4 times as much as I'll have in this car to make it roadworthy. That said I think all in im under 500 euro into this car including the cost of the car itself. On top of that I found it had the timing belt done not long before I got it so I know its been well maintained before me getting it.

[VanhireBoys]

On 24/02/2021 at 00:24, DieselMonte said:

Classic insurance is what I was banking on getting. Insurance for my monte carlo is up soon so I need to get it sorted first before I can think about getting this insured. The way things are, the Nox alone for a mk1 vrs would be atleast 4 times as much as I'll have in this car to make it roadworthy. That said I think all in im under 500 euro into this car including the cost of the car itself. On top of that I found it had the timing belt done not long before I got it so I know its been well maintained before me getting it.

 

 

My brother in law had a 00 Golf IV SDi which had astro miles on her. We put about 8 litres of petrol in the fuel tank and drove her around for 1/2 a day .. We absolutely reddened her up and down the motorway in 4th gear for about 20 miles. By the time she got to the NCT she was cooking.... This was an annual activity that we carried out ...! 

 

That Golf now resides at the farm - If you need anything engine wise just say for she is doing nothing !! 

 

To be honest your wee car probably failed due to lack of use .... A good dose of petrol and a good reddening is all she will need to pass the test. You know the old expression "Short journeys kill Diesels" . Get her built .. Get her booked .. Get her reddened and Get her passed .. !

[DieselMonte]

Had some foglight trouble earlier but they now work. Gave the car a test run around the farm today and it goes like stink. Its happy to slide around on the concrete with a bit of persuasion. The handbrake warning light came flashing on and gave me a fright. I think I just knocked the switch on the handbrake loose when I was installing the seats last day. Got the car filthy driving around though. It was already dirtied from sitting up but now it looks like its after coming from a Welsh rally stage. Another pic of the seats. They are comfortable and suit the car ok. The flash makes them and the carpet look filthy but they look great in person. I took off one of the vrs wheels to use as a spare on my Monte Carlo but I nearly prefer the extra space that the weird foam box that it has instead of a spare wheel kit. Until I can find a proper spare wheel kit I may leave the vRS wheels on this car. As a final note, the bonnet catch has completely freed up. I can pull it and release the bonnet by hand now which is nice. Still need to route it back into the car as it currently rests on the Wiper panel.

[VanhireBoys]

That car really looks very well in that color with the vRS bits on..... At least you have brought her back from the jaws of the crusher 

 

You are a good bit of teh way there now ! 

[DieselMonte]

Painted the front brakes on this car, trying to use up the rest of the VHT before the can goes bad. They came out nice for a relatively quick job. Looking at the pictures i'm thinking of using a touch up pen to fill in the FS-III indent on the brakes. You can see I tried to tint the front fogs on this car too, they came out like ****. I couldnt get the tint to sit proper no matter what I tried. I tried my Monte Carlos 17" wheels on this for kicks.  I think they look seriously good. Lastly, the brake warning light was on and I thought it was just the handbrake switch going bad. Turns out the rear drivers side drum is leaking fluid. Looks like the rear brake cylinder has gone bad. As if that wasnt bad enough I cant for the life of me undo the screw on either rear drum, The drill just skips around when I tried to drill it out so no luck there either.

[VanhireBoys]

Looking Good DM.. The rear looks a bit high .. I have a set of back lowering springs that I took off mine ... They were the only parts that I was able to save after all the work after Christmas ! 

 

They are only kicking around our garage now so give me a PM and let me know where they are going to..! I'll only end up chucking them so waste not want not !! 

 

 

This what she looked like with them on  ! 

[DieselMonte]

That is some nice fitment. I'll send you a pm now.

[DieselMonte]

Received some very nice stuff in the mail the other day, courtesy of VanhireBoys.

Those are Apex lowering springs (from the brand on them).

Fitting them was incredibly easy, Didnt even need to take the wheels off, or use spring clamps for that matter. Once the bottom damper bolt is undone they just kindof come out. Fitting was very easy too. Happily the bolts weren't nearly as crusty as the Monte Carlos that time I did the Whiteline, I ended up cutting one of them because I was so sick of trying to get it off in one piece. On this car it was little more than some wd40 and they just came right off.

Finally some pics of before and after. Pics aren't greats as its gotten dark but theres a pretty noticable difference. Its cancelled out the rake this car had and it now looks to be sitting about even front and back. I dont know what size of a drop they are but they look great. I presume the fact my car is stripped out from the b pillars back is partially why its not lower (works for me, I have no intention of reinstating the back bench yet). Driving it around it feels great, took it over some very rough patches of farm track and the rear was perfect. The front springs are needing doing now but it atleast would seem that the shocks are in decent condition and can/will be reused. Good set of bilstein shocks too.

Lastly, I intended on cleaning out the festering glovebox soon and I came in today to find that some bird used it for target practice. Great.

[VanhireBoys]

You are more than welcome DM ..... Now that stance looks right ....!! 

 

That gives me a real feel good factor to see her sitting so well . Nice to see the wee car coming round....!! She looks like she has just come off Kielder in the RAC rally ! 

 

I asked my brother one time what would he do if a bird shat on his motor - He said he would finish with her 

 

If anybody else is reading this and has any Fabia specific items that would do another turn then don't forget DieselMonte - Remember this is a learning experience and any donations or help you can give PM him.... !

[DieselMonte]

Bit of a boring update, Gave the car a much needed wash. Got it filthy driving it around the farm. Cleans up well considering. Also got some briskoda stickers on it, something i've been meaning to do for a while.

[DieselMonte]

Small update to the mk1. I got around to sealing up the top of the windscreen on it. Always leaked and i've only gotten around to doing it now. Cant really see from the pictures but I got a small tube of black silicone and tried to use the nozzle it came with for a better job. The crappy tube leaked so I ended up removing the nozzle, shoving a load of silicon into the seam and working it in with my finger. Not the neatest job but hopefully it'll stop leaking. Took it out for a run when I was waiting for the exhaust paint to cure, ran great and pulls well once its warmed up. Gear shifts feel better than the Monte even with its powerflex dogbone bush. 

[DieselMonte]

Small update, finally got the glovebox cleaned out enough to not make me gag whenever I open it, and took the time this evening to put it back in. Apart from one of the clips having been damaged it all went back together fine. The Monte Carlo is currently away having its tracking woes sorted. Apparantly it needs to get new balljoints and new bushes (again), and atleast 2 tyres. Atleast I can fiddle with this in the meanwhile to keep my mind off the other one.

[DieselMonte]

Got some used coilovers to go on this. FK performance coilovers and while dirty they do seem to be in decent shape! I think the rear coils are from a different brand as they should be shorter with a collar to adjust ride height. Either way all is in decent shape. Bought these along with a lovely set of 312mm brakes that will soon find a home on my mk2. I'll compare the rear springs I got with these and the lowering springs Vanhireboys graciously gave me. Honestly, I'm happy with the current rear springs As I think they help cancel out the high arse it got from being stripped so I'll probably keep them on. Might be tempted to throw one pair of the rear springs onto the Monte carlo for the hell of it. After all, its only a 10 minute job on these cars!

[DieselMonte]

Both front coilovers are in. Surprisingly easy to do. Only trouble came from a bolt on the top mount stripping the plastic around it. Had to grind off the head of the bolt and it made quite the mess of the paint. Other than that it was smooth sailing. Having an impact gun makes it miles quicker. Still need to do the rears, its a very easy job though so next day i'm out it'll be back on its wheels in no time at all.

[LukeG99]

Well done with all the work you've done! It's inspired me to start thinking about getting a cheap fabia and fixing it up.

[DieselMonte]

Rear suspension is done and the car is back on the ground. I ended up swapping out the coil springs for the ones I bought. Both seem to be the same height, i'm guessing any differences in them will come from the way the coils are positioned. You can see in one of the photos how worn the old bumpstops were, nasty. Easy enough job overall though. Only trouble is that the arb is fouling on the driveshaft at full lock. I believe Mondeo drop links are what most people go for in this case?

[DieselMonte]

Not a lot of difference between the before (Top) and after (Bottom). However, its definately a lot nicer to drive. Its cornering much flatter and feels a lot more responsive to drive. I took it on some dirt too, and it definately seemed to handle itself better there also. As I said in the last post I'll have to get shorter droplinks. Otherwise i'm considering these coilovers a win.